The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1887-12-16
THE NAVY.

7ynopsis Of Secretary Whitncy's Report
The Prospects for n New Navy Looking
Drighter-Dynamite as n Defensive Fac
tor of the Future-A Naval Reserve
Estimates, Etc.
WASHINGTON, Dec. Sin his annual re.
port the Secretary Of the Navy SAYS: ut
Is with much satisfaction that the depart
r1ent is able to report upon the occur.
rences of the past year. Many difficulties
have stood in the way of the creation of a
creditable new navy. During tho last
year many of these difficulties have been
removed, and il it is the will OF the conn
Try that we should be possessed of navy
able to maintain, when required, the honor
and dignity of the Government, it can
now readily be created"
The secretary then outlines the work
accomplished on the cruisers, armed yes
sells, coast defenses, etc.
In this connection he adds: "Sorne
slight delay in the construction of the
cruisers under contract has doubtless re-
suited in much jarring aud unpl easans.
ness at first; but at the present time all
concur that the quality of the steel has
been improved, and that more reliable
processes have come to light, and all dis.
satisfaction has disappeared. Especially
has the steel made upon the Pac;f ic coast
been notable for its quality, and the con.
struction OF the cruises there may mark
an important event in its industrial ills.
tory"
He saws: sThe department deems it
unwise to follow ut present the course OF
the European powers in building unpro-
tected torpedo boats. 1t recognizes the
power of the dynamite projectiie, and be-
lieves it practicable to embody it i'm such
a manner as to insure that it will reach
any desired object of attack in spite OF
known weapons and upon that problem 1t
is engaged.
81 find myself unable to concur in the
the Recommendation that the single tur-
reted monitors be repaired and made
ready for coast defense vessels. An ex
animation of their characteristics shows
that outside of the ships in our navy no
antagonist could probably be found
against which they could stand for mo-
ment They were good vessels for their
time. but are entirely obsolete. 1t would
be little less than murder to send men in
these vessel at the present time to en-
counter any recently-buiit iron-clad."
"Iappreciate fully that il is only as TEN.
porary expediens that it is suggested aud
with the thought that in the absence of
any thing else these might he better than
nothing. This has been the theory on
which fifty, and probably seventy. mil.
lions have haen spent since the close of
the war. 1t is time to stop it, and be con-
tent only with the best. If every dollar
is made to count upon something of real
value, waste will stop, and not before"
After describing the extravagant sys.
tenn of repairing vessels in past years, the
repairs often costing several times rs
much as the vessel did, ths secretary
saws:
at is often the subject of wonder what
has become OF the seventy m lions spent
upon war vessels since the Gloss of the
war, i'm view of the fact that there is now
no navy. The foregoing bit of history
will serve as an illustration.
"The pneumatic dynamite gun has been
developed by private enterprise to the
point where it merits immediate attention.
Whatever destruction torpedo can do,
this prof ,ctile can do il accurately placed.
Against its method of attack neither
nets or machine guns are OF any con-
siderable use. 1t can be fired at such
distance as to be beyond the effective
|
fight of its prof actile escapes nets. There
are questions to be settled before its eff
ficiency for nava! purposes can be fully
determined. This invention, like every
other, has its own peculiar problem
to solve, but the zeal and intelligence
thus far given TO the developm snt prom
Uses ultimate success. For coast and harbor
defense. to be fired from land batteries, its
&c he N NJ w n h,.t
for naval purposes other clements of diff
iiculty intervene. The movement of the
vessel destroys the possibility of awaiting
of range previously determined by ex.
pertinent. However, the problems to be
solved are receiving the most Jealous
study. and it is believed by those interest.
ed that in time all will be work ii out.
"a public feeling seems to exist for the
creation of the naval reserve. We have
informed ourselves on the system for
coast defense and naval reserve in foreign
countries and are prepared to formulate
general plan for a similar organization
t. meet the requirements of our institu'
tons. 1t should resemble i'm organiZa.
ton thas OF the militia Or Nationa, Guard;
rest upon the foundation floca' interest;
contemplate the employm ant and rapid
mobilization of steamers enrolled on an
auxiliary navy list, aud he calculated ID
produce the best results upon a compare
lively small National expenditure. ask
for this question the earnest considera.
tion of Congress.
The cStimat, IS for the navy and mari NJ
corps for the current fiscal wear amounted
to 81. $50, 41902, and the appropriations to
SEC, Is, sa3 -. The estimates for the fisca!
wear ending Jun 81 1889 amount to S23,-
4s7,Si0, or s.. I6l. SIS. 81 less than the esti-
mates. and S,,,7754, sc. 90 less than the APP
preparations for the current fiscal year.
Special atten ton is called to the con-
siderations presented in the report in ref
erence to the provision of additional
facilities for naval work on the Pacific
coast, especially in the neighborhood of
Puget Sound. the great coal and iron re.
gion of the future upon this coast Apart
from this question OF an additional naval
station, measures should certainly be
taken to place the only naval station now
existing upon that coast, that ut San
Francisco, in a fully-equippsd condition.
In three years we shall have twenty-one
wooden vessels remaining; in six years
but four, and in nine years our entire
wood N navy will have disappeared.
Tic secretary devotes considerable
space to a chronicle OF the progress made
in the science OF naval ship-buiiding,
coast defense, etc, throughout tn, world
during the year. The general tone of the
report is one of great satisfaction with the
successful development of the secreta ry's
plans for rehabilitation of our navy.
Another and most important subjsct re-
farred fo is the or,S.jon of an available